Please checkthis section if you have questions about ASLA membership, programs, or the profession of landscape architecture.

About the Profession

What do landscape architects do?

Landscape architects analyze, plan, design, manage, and nurture the natural and built environments. Among the types of projects they produce are:

Academic campuses

Conservation

Corporate and commercial

Gardens and arboreta

Green infrastructure

Historic preservation and restoration

Hospitality and resorts

Institutions

Interior landscapes

Land planning

Landscape art

Monuments

Parks and recreation

Reclamation

Residential

Security design

Stormwater management

Streetscapes and public spaces

Therapeutic gardens

Transportation corridors

Urban design.

Who are their clients?

Residential design is the largest market sector. Most of that work consists of single-family homes, but also includes multi-family and retirement communities.

Three largest client groups, in descending order:

Private-home owners

Architects

Cities/municipalities.

For smaller firms (four employees or fewer):

Private-home owners.

What are they paid?Average annual salary and bonuses for those in the landscape architecture field total $78,600 (2010-11 ASLA National Salary Survey).

How many landscape architects are there in the United States?The U.S. Department of Labor in 2012 (most recent count) identified 20,100 employees in the landscape architecture field, a significant drop from the 2008 count due to the economy. That number has grown since then.

How many landscape architects are licensed?Approximately 16,000 landscape architects are licensed. Licensure is required in all 50 states to be identified as a “landscape architect” and in 47 states to practice landscape architecture.